Education Reform Continues with Release of 2005 QCEA results

Education Reform Continues with Release of 2005 QCEA results

The Evaluation Institute of the Supreme Education Council announced today the beginning of the release of the results of the 2005 Qatar Comprehensive Educational Assessment (QCEA). This year, data reflect students’ performance with respect to demanding standards recently put into place. Newly established performance levels will provide deeper insight into the progress of educational reform.

Nationally-scaled scores indicate that although Independent School students scored higher than students in Ministry of Education schools and private Arabic schools, there is still much to be done in order to help students meet expected standards.

“The 2005 QCEA is an important step in the continued educational reform Qatar is undertaking,” said Adel Al-Sayed, Director of the Evaluation Institute. “With this year’s results, we now have a system and tools to monitor and report the progress and changes in the education reform.”

The results are from the April 2005 administration of Qatar’s assessments of Arabic, English, mathematics and science, known as the Qatar Comprehensive Education Assessment, or QCEA. Over 80,000 students in all public and private Arabic schools took the exams. The tests are administered to students in grades 1-12, except science, which is administered to grades 4-12.

This year’s data are of higher quality because they are based on tests aligned with the standards Qatar has put into place. The standards reflect what students need to learn to be productive citizens who contribute to their country’s success and who may be well-employed in the international job market. Another milestone was the implementation of performance levels that indicate whether students’ performance fully meets the standards, approaches them or is below these standards.

Performance levels represent different degrees of achievement of the standards and were defined by local educators based on collective judgments of what students should know and be able to do.

Results at hand indicate that although Independent School students' performance level was higher than that of students in the MoE and private Arabic schools, most students’ performance is either approaching the new standards or below these demanding criteria recently put into place.

“The QCEA results allow better decision-making about our children’s education,” said Adel Al-Sayed. “The SEC can make better policy decisions, teachers can make more informed curriculum choices and parents can use the results to gain a better understanding of schools.”

Along with the QCEA, Qatar will also take part, in March 2006, in the international studies known as PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS, which will provide additional information showing how the educational reform is progressing and how Qatar’s students compare globally. The QCEA also feeds data to the school evaluation system, which provides parents and others with information about various aspects of a school.

“What we discover from the QCEA and international studies Qatar participates in will help us take action in areas such as curriculum design, teachers' professional development and test development so that we achieve the ultimate goal of the reform: increased and improved student learning. It is, therefore, an international duty for everyone to take these assessments seriously," said Adel Al-Sayed “Assessments and evaluation are key to the continued success of Education for a New Era in Qatar. Our work has just begun.”

The Supreme Education Council was established by Emiri decree in 2002. It serves as the primary authority on education policy in Qatar and, with its three Institutes, is leading the effort to transform the nation’s schools into a modern, world-class education system. More information about Qatar’s education reform effort, Education for a New Era, is available at www.education.gov.qa. # # #

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